Surprises Let Me Know You Care

All the small things
True care, truth brings
I'll take, one lift
Your ride, best trip

Always, I know
You'll be at my show
Watching, waiting
Commiserating

Say it ain't so
I will not go
Turn the lights off
Carry me home

Na, na, na

Late night, come home
Work sucks, I know
She left me roses by the stairs
Surprises let me know she cares

I've decided to take a stab at writing a book again.  Inspired by all of these blogs I've been writing.

But, I need your help.

I've been bouncing around the kind of book I want to write and my heart keeps going back to a romance so that I can maybe put some of my past fantasies, current dreams and future hopes on paper.  "He's Just That Not Into You" has already been done, so I'm going to try something upbeat and positive.  :)

However, I'm rusty in the romance department and to be honest, my ways of dealing with relationships and romance are not exactly the most traditional.  I'm not sure mainstream publishers would like a book where the woman does the pursuing and then says the hell with it and rents a stack of DVDs once she realizes the guy isn't interested. :)

So -- I hope you'll help me. 

An idea I've bounced around for awhile involves a young woman who sets a goal for herself to go out on 30 dates with 30 different men before settling down.  I'm thinking she will be a serial short-term relationship sort who dates men for a bit, "falls madly in love" with them while she is dating them and then is totally demolished when it is over.  It will be quirky and funny.  Chick lit over traditional romance.  

Then, one of her friends challenges her to just "date for awhile" and not fall in love with every man she meets.  She'll also be someone who has a "type" she typically goes for and her friends will encourage her to date "outside her type".  So, she sets a goal to date 30 men before getting serious about anyone again, whether it takes one month or one year.  Nothing serious until all 30 dates/30 men have been completed.

Of course, the twist will be that she will meet someone outside of the dating challenge who is interested in her but she isn't aware of it -- or she's so focused on her goal that she doesn't see it -- and he keeps trying to get her to see him as a potential.  

This is where I get a little... bumpy... in my outline.   What does he do?  How does he let her know?  Keep in mind that this is a romance novel which means that it can't be something so obvious as "Hey, I like you.  Screw those other men.  Date me!"  There has to be some subtlety to it, but something that not every other guy she knows (i.e. male friends) do.  I think I'm going to take the approach that she keeps thinking he's just joking and/or flirting.  Maybe have him be a recovering serial "serious dater" himself that she sees a lot of herself in and doesn't think he can commit long-term.  Maybe a neighbor, client or co-worker that she fears ruining their existing relationship if she even entertains the thought of dating him.

What are some ways you (if you aren't a male, pretend...) would let someone know you were interested without coming right out and letting them know?

You can respond by comment here, on my Facebook, by message on FB or you can email me.  I'd appreciate any help you can provide.

If you aren't single anymore, what worked for you?  How did you let someone know you were interested?  How did someone let you know they were interested?